--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Tools may be animate as well as…" description: "\"Tools may be animate as well as inanimate; for instance, a ship's captain uses a lifeless rudder, but a living man for watch; for a servant is, from th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f1/aristotle-78_assemblage_tools-may-be-animate-as-well-as-inanimat_2883038.jpg" --- # Tools may be animate as well as inanimate; for instance, a… ![“Tools may be animate as well as inanimate; for instance, a ship's captain uses a lifeless rudder, but a living man for watch; for a servant is, from the point of view of his craft, categorized as one of its tools. So any piece of property can be regarded as a tool enabling a man to live, and his…” quote by Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f1/aristotle-78_assemblage_tools-may-be-animate-as-well-as-inanimat_2883038.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f1/aristotle-78_assemblage_tools-may-be-animate-as-well-as-inanimat_2883038.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f1/aristotle-78_assemblage_tools-may-be-animate-as-well-as-inanimat_2883038.jpg) > “Tools may be animate as well as inanimate; for instance, a ship's captain uses a lifeless rudder, but a living man for watch; for a servant is, from the point of view of his craft, categorized as one of its tools. So any piece of property can be regarded as a tool enabling a man to live, and his property is an assemblage of such tools; a slave is a sort of living piece of property; and like any other servant is a tool in charge of other tools.” [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Tools, whether animate or inanimate, extend human capability; even people can be seen as tools serving broader purposes. **In simple terms:** People and objects both serve as tools to achieve goals. Key Takeaway Recognize how resources, including relationships, aid your purpose. Themes philosophy human nature instrumentalism Mood analytical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - workplace - education - technology - social structures Key Concepts utility agency social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - In what ways do we rely on others as tools? - How can we respect agency while recognizing utility? A Different Perspective Viewing people as tools can dehumanize and ignore intrinsic worth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assemblage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assemblage/) [Captains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/captains/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Enabling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enabling/) [Instance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instance/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lifeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifeless/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Pieces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pieces/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Regarded Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regarded-tool-4005975/) [Rudders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rudders/) [Servant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant/) [Servant Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/servant-tool-4005973/) [Ships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ships/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) [Tools Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools-slave-4005974/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [Views](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/views/) [Watches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watches/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [In educating the young we steer them by the rudders of pleasure and pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/in-educating-the-young-we-steer-them-by-the-rudders-of-pleasure-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [I have this assemblage of small facts, which looks like intelligence but no real depth of knowledge about anything. That's why I'm an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-knight/i-have-this-assemblage-of-small-facts-which-looks-like-intelligence/) [Wayne Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-knight/) > [The mere assemblage of peace loving people to interchange convincing reasons for their common faith, mere exhortation and argument to the public in favor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elihu-root/the-mere-assemblage-of-peace-loving-people-to-interchange-convincing/) [Elihu Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elihu-root/) > [See what an atmosphere of holiness is here the pure air of the Ganga what an assemblage of Sadhus will you find anywhere a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/see-what-an-atmosphere-of-holiness-is-here-the-pure-air-of-the-ganga/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The universe, that vast assemblage of every thing that exists, presents only matter and motion: the whole offers to our contemplation, nothing but an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/the-universe-that-vast-assemblage-of-every-thing-that-exists-presents/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [All systems of morality are fine. 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It's a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betye-saar/i-am-intrigued-with-combining-the-remnant-of-memories-fragments-of/) [Betye Saar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betye-saar/) > [Whether it is photography, assemblage art or filmmaking, my work is to see beneath the surface.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christophe-agou/whether-it-is-photography-assemblage-art-or-filmmaking-my-work-is-to/) [Christophe Agou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christophe-agou/) > [Identity is an assemblage of constellations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/identity-is-an-assemblage-of-constellations/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [The paleontological evidence before us today clearly demonstrates ordered progressive change with the successive development of new faunal and floral assemblages through the changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/the-paleontological-evidence-before-us-today-clearly-demonstrates/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) ## More by Aristotle > [The knowledge of the soul admittedly contributes greatly to the advance of truth in general, and, above all, to our understanding of Nature, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-knowledge-of-the-soul-admittedly-contributes-greatly-to-the/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Young men have strong passions and tend to gratify them indiscriminately. 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We have not moved the mind - what our friend Don Juan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-are-all-incarnate-buddhas-we-just-have-not-realized-it-deeply-we/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [A tribute . . . is due to the talents, the rectitude, and the patriotism, which adorn the characters selected to devise and adopt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/a-tribute-is-due-to-the-talents-the-rectitude-and-the-patriotism/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [In the great battle of life, no brilliancy of intellect, no perfection of bodily development, will count when weighed in the balance against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/in-the-great-battle-of-life-no-brilliancy-of-intellect-no-perfection/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Since the tubes of paint used by the artist are manufactured and ready-made products, we must conclude that all the paintings in the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/since-the-tubes-of-paint-used-by-the-artist-are-manufactured-and/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [All systems of morality are fine. The gospel alone has exhibited a complete assemblage of the principles of morality, divested of all absurdity. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/all-systems-of-morality-are-fine-the-gospel-alone-has-exhibited-a/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The universe, that vast assemblage of every thing that exists, presents only matter and motion: the whole offers to our contemplation, nothing but an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-d-holbach/the-universe-that-vast-assemblage-of-every-thing-that-exists-presents/) [Baron d'Holbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-d-holbach/) > [See what an atmosphere of holiness is here the pure air of the Ganga what an assemblage of Sadhus will you find anywhere a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/see-what-an-atmosphere-of-holiness-is-here-the-pure-air-of-the-ganga/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [The mere assemblage of peace loving people to interchange convincing reasons for their common faith, mere exhortation and argument to the public in favor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elihu-root/the-mere-assemblage-of-peace-loving-people-to-interchange-convincing/) [Elihu Root](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elihu-root/) > [I have this assemblage of small facts, which looks like intelligence but no real depth of knowledge about anything. That's why I'm an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-knight/i-have-this-assemblage-of-small-facts-which-looks-like-intelligence/) [Wayne Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-knight/) > [The brain is more than an assemblage of autonomous modules, each crucial for a specific mental function. Every one of these functionally specialized areas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/the-brain-is-more-than-an-assemblage-of-autonomous-modules-each/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) [Browse all 50 Assemblage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assemblage/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Tools may be animate as well as inanimate; for instance, a ship's captain uses a lifeless rudder, but a living man for watch; for a servant is, from the point of view of his craft, categorized as one of its tools. 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